Weekly Countdown: Lee's tenacity, Kobe's scowl among Finals lessons

5. Will Courtney Lee be scarred for life? If we're talking about his last-second alley-oop layup that would have won Game 2 of the NBA Finals for Orlando, the answer is no. After he missed that shot, Lee -- a rookie from Western Kentucky -- stood at his locker and answered every question without taking offense.

If we're talking about the surgical scar he suffered early this postseason, the answer is a superficial yes. The toughness Lee showed while returning four games after a frightening head injury says everything about his ability to recover from one unfortunate shot off the backboard.

In Game 5 of the opening round against the 76ers, Lee was elbowed in the forehead by teammate Dwight Howard

"All of his weight came down with his elbow," Lee said. "Oh, man, you have no idea. I've never been hit like that before. I didn't know where I got hit because the pain was all over my face, and I was throbbing and then my nose started bleeding and my teeth started clinging. When I went to the bench, I'm thinking my nose got broke, and then I look in the mirror and I got a big old knot right here."

He rubs at his forehead. "And then I rub right here and I can feel a dent. So I told Dwight, 'You put a dent in my forehead.' "

A CT scan revealed a fractured sinus. "First the doctor, who wasn't a specialist in the surgery, told me they would have to go ear to ear -- I mean an ear-to-ear incision -- and pull my skin over my face," Lee said. "When I heard that news, it was over for me. I was like, Man, I'll keep the fracture before I do that."

A specialist, Dr. James Palmer, told Lee he could repair the fracture by operating up through his nose. "But then, he said there were 12 fractures in there," Lee said. "He had to go under my eyebrow to screw the plates in."

Ten days after the injury, Lee was back on the court and outfitted with a protective mask that would enable him to play in the second round against the Celtics. He had been in the game a few minutes when he dived head-first for a loose ball.

"I was so caught up in the game," said Lee, who retains a small surgical scar under his left eyebrow, just above the eye. "I really wasn't too worried about it. I got the mask, and I know if I made that decision to go out and play, I couldn't be timid."

In summary, he should be able to overcome a missed layup.